A surge in dating violence in South Korea has led to an alarming number of deaths in recent years, but a lack of specific laws to address such violence has often allowed perpetrators to get away with lenient punishments, with experts underscoring the need for a stronger legal framework.

In one recent incident, a medical student in his 20s allegedly killed his victim on a high-rise rooftop in broad daylight when she demanded a breakup. Another case involved a man who unlawfully entered his former partner’s house and strangled her to death. In March, yet another man stabbed his ex-partner to death after she broke up with him.